The Butterfly Court
by LadySilentEagle
Summary: [Butterfly: A symbol of Love, Rebirth, Celebration, Freedom, Light and Good Luck] Three girls with a hidden past; trying to leave it behind. But sometimes the past has a cruel way of coming back to bite you in the butt. Add romance and relationships into the mix, and you've one hell of a mess. (Contestshipping/Pokéshipping/Ikarishipping/Quests hipping)
1. Chapter 1

******Hello Everyone. LadySilentEagle here. With a new story to share with you. Enjoy!**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its Characters, just the story and any OC's. **

**Pairings: Contestshipping – Pokéshipping – Ikarishipping – Questshipping **

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**CHAPTER ONE**

I cannot believe this. He's done it again. Why is it that every time he goes out, he has to bring _company_ back with him?

I frown at the sad sight of the poor girl. Her long, wavy, shoulder-length honey-brown hair looked like a ragged birds nest; her lipstick, or what was left of it, is smeared all over her cheeks (though most of it had been on her cheeks to begin with); her mascara was definitely not water-proof, and left black streaks down her face and made her look like a panda; and her outfit, which consisted of a strapless, sequin covered, blue top and a black, denim mini skirt, is covered in… actually I don't even want to speculate what that brown stain is.

_*Frustrated sigh*_ Might as well get started. First things first, I have to wake her up and give her some aspirin. She's bound to have a hangover when she wakes up.

I tentatively kneel down next to her and gently shake her by her shoulder. "Hey. Hey, wake up. It's time to wake up." But all she does is mumble something incoherent and smack her lips.

_Come on._ "Hey, Miss. You need to wake up." Still she doesn't stir.

Time to go to drastic measures. I reach into my belt pouch and pull out a red and white Pokéball. "Glaceon, I need your assistance."

I stand up and click the ball open. In a red flash, appears my beloved Glaceon, which I've owed since she was an egg. Once free of her Pokéball, Glaceon shakes and stretches before looking up to me with her big blue eyes. I point to the passed out girl. "I need you to use a small _Aqua Tail_ on her. Just a small amount of water, just enough to wake her up."

Glaceon nods and carries out my command. She turns around and points her tail towards the girl. A thin steam of water spirals around her tail and expands, till it reaches out and splashes the girl in her face. Given that Glaceon is an Ice-type, the water she produces is rather cold.

The water does the trick; the girl wakes up squealing at the disturbance to her slumber. "What the hell!"

"Sorry, but I tried waking up earlier but you wouldn't budge. So I asked Glaceon to assist. My name's May, I'm an employee of the Hammond's. It's part of my job to escort you out and get you home safely," I explain as I help her to stand, which isn't easy seeing as she's wearing particularly high heels.

"Employee?"

"Yes. I'm a housemaid." I hold on to her arm and place my other hand around her back, making sure she doesn't stumble and fall.

"Oh, so you help around… and do all the cleaning… and… stuff?" She giggles as she drawls, as we approach the front door.

"Yes. I'm also in charge of taking care of any houseguests. Thus, I'm making sure you get home safe." I let the girl lean against the wall next to the door while I reach into my apron pocket and pull out a cell phone.

"Who… are you calling?" She half slurs, half giggles.

"I'm arranging for a cab to take you home." I dial a number and I'm put in touch with the local cab service. I request that a cab be sent to the Hammond Estate to pick up one passenger in the next 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, the girl, who's still slightly sleepy and dazed, slides down the wall and slumps against the floor. There she watches Glaceon as Glaceon watches her, she mumbles a comment on how pretty Glaceon is and how shiny her fur is.

_Seriously, this is getting old._ How many times is he going to do this? This is the 8th bloody girl he's brought home drunk in the last fortnight.

I ask Glaceon to watch her while I head into the kitchen to grab the girl a glass of water and an aspirin. However, already waiting for me on the kitchen counter is a glass of water and a box of aspirins. Standing by the kitchen stove is the personal family Chef, Jeremy Antone.

"Good Morning Jeremy. Thanks." I nod towards the water and aspirins before walking over and picking them up.

"Not a problem, love. I had a hunch you might need em'." Jeremy is such a sweetheart, always considerate of others. I give him a bright smile of thanks as I leave the kitchen.

The girl is where I left her and Glaceon hasn't left her post. I approach, kneel down and place the glass on the floor next to me. I thank Glaceon for her good work and pat her on the head, and then recall her back into her Pokeball. Then I open the aspirin box and shake out a packet, pop a pill and pick up the glass. I offer the girl the aspirin.

"What's that?"

"Aspirin and water."

"Oh… thanks." She takes the aspirin pill and pops it into her mouth; I carefully make her drink the water.

Once she's swallowed, I pack away the aspirin box and lay the glass aside.

"What's your name?"

"My name? My names… Chloe."

"Ok Chloe, where do you live?"

"Live? I live… at 108… River Street… Why?"

"So that I can tell the cab driver where to drop you off."

"Okay." She slurs, one lat time before seemingly nodding off, just as I hear the sound of a car horn. I walk away and place the glass and box on a nearby hall table.

I return to the girl and help her up. "What's… happening?"

"The cabs here to take you home."

"Oh… brilliant."

I proper her up and with one hand (and a little difficulty) I open the door. Then I lead her down the driveway, towards the waiting cab. Halfway there, she nods off on me again and makes it harder for me to get her to the cab.

Waiting in the drivers seat is a familiar face. "Hey, Mark. How are you today?"

"Heya, May. I'm good. Not surprised to hear you called the office today." Mark tips his paperboy hat and gives me a toothy smile, as he exist the car to help me get the girl into the back seat.

We manage to lift her up and gently lay her down in the back seat. She immediately curls up into a fetal position. Mark walks around the cab and pops open the trunk, pulling out a thin gray blanket. He gently lays it over her. Mark is a dad with two young twin daughters, so he's got natural paternal instincts to ensure that his passengers get home safely, especially when he makes stops here.

"Thanks Mark. She lives at 108 River Street," I bow and smile apologetically, "Sorry for calling you out here every time."

Mark chuckles lightly and shakes his head as he closes the back door. "May, you say that every time, and like always, I'm telling you that it's fine. It's not your fault. I'm use to getting call outs here. If anyone should be apologizing, not that I need apologizing about this sort of thing, then it's that young master of yours."

*Sigh* "I know. But, what am I supposed to do about it?"

"Well, you can't keep babysitting his dates forever."

"Yeah. I know," I shrug my shoulders and shake my head, "Thanks again for coming out here."

"No problem May. See-ya. Have a good day, now." Mark tips his cap again before settling himself in the drives seat and driving away.

* * *

I watch from my second floor window as May waves the cab good-bye. My emerald green eyes watch as her shoulder-length, auburn brown hair sways from her movements as she walks back up the driveway and into the house. I bet she's annoyed as hell at having to do that. I can just imagine the look in her sapphire blue eyes. I don't mean to make her do it, but it's not like I can just leave those girls alone. I just can't seem to help my self.

Ever since her first day here, I've found myself strangely drawn to her. Her sapphire blue eyes that reminded me of the genuine article, and her auburn brown hair that looked so soft that I bet it would feel like silk if I managed to run my fingers through it. Her facial physique is average by normal standards but somehow seemed exquisitely beautiful to me.

When my parents told me that they'd hired three girls to be housemaids for me I expected a trio of fangirls, but instead I received a sassy redhead, a peppy bluenette and a klutzy brunette. None of them showed any interest in me. So, at first I intended to ignore them but soon enough I found myself flirting with May. She returned my advances with flirts of her own and I found that rather enjoyable, but then she stopped. Now every time I flirt or tease her, she brushes it off and responds like a poker-faced doll. I've tried to get her to return my advances like she use to but no luck.

I sigh and walk away from the window. I better get dressed for school, May's bound to come up here soon to walk me up.

* * *

Now that, that's out of the way, it's time to wake up his royal pain in the ass (if he isn't already awake).

I close the front door behind me and make my way towards the stairs. Halfway up them I run into Dawn and Misty. Dawn and Misty are my two bestest friends in the whole world and I'm happy to have them. I'm extremely grateful to have them as part of my life. We promised each other that we'd always be friends forever, till the end of time.

Misty has brilliant viridian green eyes and shoulder-length orange hair, tied back in a ponytail. Whereas, Dawn has Cobalt blue eyes and mid-back length royal blue hair held back by yellow barrettes.

"Good Morning May. You're up early, it's like 6 o'clock in the morning," greets Misty as she gives me her best morning smile. She's dressed in the same maids uniform that I'm wearing; except that hers is a royal blue while mine is a dark emerald green.

"Wait, let me guess. He brought another girl home again and just left her in the living room. Was she on the couch or the floor this time?" asks Dawn, her smile outshining Misty's or mine; her uniform is a deep crimson red with pink hints.

"He left her propped up against the back of the couch this time."

"Guess he couldn't make up his mind about where to put her, so he just left her halfway." Misty laughs.

"Yeah. Looks like it." I smile and wave them off. I continue my way up stairs as Dawn and Misty head for the kitchen. They've got kitchen duty this morning before school. Once I've woken him up, I can go get ready for school.

Now, don't get me wrong. I totally disapprove of his behaviour with girls, but despite that, I can help but feel some sort of attraction towards him. His emerald green eyes that shine almost like the real thing. I could stare into those pools of green for ages, but of course I could never do that cause if I did, he'd notice and tease me about it. There's now way I'm risking that kind of torment, not matter how beautiful I think his eyes are. Then there's his hair. Soft and luscious, and the same emerald green as his eyes, except a little darker. The way the sun shone on it or the way the breeze made it sway, just gave me the urge to reach out and run my fingers through it. Add that to a handsome face and athletic physique, and he's practically every girls dream, or almost every girls dream. He's one of the school's most popular and sought after guys. No matter my attraction, there's no way he'd ever take interest in me, I'd never stand a chance.

I knock twice on his door. It opens to reveal his handsome face complimented by his emerald eyes and hair. All traces of sleepiness vacant from his face the moment he see's that it's me at his door.

"Good Morning, young master Drew." I back up and bow, as I've been trained to do.

"Good Morning. What's for breakfast?" He speaks evenly and smoothly. Asking me the same usual question he does every morning. Aside from his physical attractiveness, he's got a cool personality. He rarely ever gets frustrated or aggravated. No matter the situation (or battle) he rarely loses his cool; he remains calm and collected.

"Chef Antone is preparing eggs and bacon. Is that to your liking?" I stand up straight and put on my pleasant poker face smile. Not long after the girls and I started working here, we quickly learnt that Drew is a flirt, but not a total ladies man. He knows how to charm and has the manners of a gentleman. This became apparent when he first started flirting with me. At first I was flattered and would often return his light advances with flirting of my own, but then I started to clean up his nightly messes.

Drew smirks at me, raising his hand to tip my chin. "You know what would really be to my liking?" His voice is like warm honey; he's attempting to charm me, throw me off my centre.

However, I don't react, but on the inside by heart is beating faster than normal. His smirk always does this to me, even after I stopped returning his advances. I don't know why. It just has that affect on me. But, despite that, I will not give him the satisfaction of throwing me off my balance. I've trained my self to control my urges and keep a calm demeanor about me. Gentleman or not, he still has some player in him.

"What would be to your liking?" I speak evenly, letting no hint of my true state escape.

Sensing that I will not play his game, he drops my chin and returns to his prior formal state. "Orange juice with my extra crispy bacon and I'd like my eggs sunny side up."

"I'll be sure to inform Chef Antone. Will that be all?"

He looks at me, analyzing me. "Yes, that will be all. You're dismissed for the morning."

He turns away from me and closes the door. Never once did he ask about the girl. Goes to show much he really cares. Though I'm not surprised one bit. I turn and walk away from his door.

* * *

In the kitchen, Dawn and Misty are setting up the table for Drew to have breakfast.

"Hello Jeremy, young master Drew would like his eggs sunny side up and his bacon extra crispy." I open the fridge and pull out a fresh carton of orange juice before making my way around the kitchen to collect a glass.

"I hear ya'," Chef Antone smiles at me over his shoulder before returning to the preparation of Drew's breakfast, "And what would you girls like?"

"I'll just grab some toast. As soon as I'm done, I have to take off. I've got some work to do before school starts. I'm helping out the senior girls soccer coach prepare for morning exercises," Misty replies.

"I'd like some scrambled eggs, please." Dawn chirps.

"I'll just nimble on some bacon pieces." I say as I set Drew's glass of orange juice on the table next to his plate.

"You gals need to eat some proper breakfast. It's a wonder how you girls are still able to move about with so much energy." Jeremy scolds us with a cheeky smile on his face, signaling he was joking.

"I'm surprised too. Normally May goes through three helpings of food." A shiver runs up my spine. I don't have to turn around to know who that is. Drew's up and he's in a good mood if he's already teasing me like this, this early in the morning.

"Actually, I'm not feeling so hungry. I'll just grab some toast before I leave and eat it on the way." I brush past Drew, our shoulders barely touching but still they connect a fraction.

I can hear Drew asking Dawn and Misty, what is up with me this morning. Let's just say that this routine was getting very old, and I've been working for the Hammond's for over 2 years now. Dawn, Misty and I started working for them back when we were 16. We were short on cash and needed a place to stay. Luckily, we managed to land a job with the Hammond's as housemaids for their son, with the added bonus of free room and board. Drew lives on his own; his parents were constantly working, which meant that they spent a lot of times over seas. They have their own separate place, which is a penthouse suite in the inner city.

I make my way upstairs once more and proceed down the hall to my left. My room is right in between Dawn and Misty's rooms. Each of our rooms is built and modeled the same, just styled and decorated differently to suit our own personal tastes.

My room is a rectangular shape with a window facing the side of the house; it has pastel red walls and a cream coloured carpet floor. Half of the right wall, just as you walk in, is my closet and next to it are built-in shelves, completely covered in all my favourite novels. Up against the left wall, facing my closet, in the centre is my double bed with Skitty pattern sheets and covers (this places the door to the left of the bed and the window to its right). All my furniture (compliments of the Hammond's) is made of red ash wood; there's a chest of drawers against the wall next to the window, a desk against the wall next to the door, and a bedside table to the right of my bed. Scattered around the room, are various magazines and novels, I'm an avid bookworm, which is why love working in the school library so much. Also decorating my room is a number of pokémon plushies – a Torchic doll, a Beautifly doll, a Female Frillish doll, and a Vulpix and Ninetales doll set.

I love my room. It's the one of the few places where I can truly be at peace in the whole world.

I walk over to my closet and pull out my school uniform, which consists of a pleated, tartan red skirt, a three-quarter sleeve, white blouse, a black tie, a matching red, sleeveless jumper vest with the school crest over the right breast, knee high white socks (a brand of the students choosing), and pair of school approved shoes. It's a decent and simple uniform.

I lay my uniform out on my bed, and then walk over to lock the door. Then I remove my maid uniform, leaving me in my shorts and bra. I glance at the clock on my bedside table as I get dressed in my school uniform; it reads 6:54am. School gates don't open till 7:30am, and classes don't start till 8:45am.

Once I'm fully dressed and ready to go, I double-check my school to make sure all my work and materials are there. I remember the last time I forgot to check and that resulted in me forgetting about my history paper (which contributed to 30% of my grade), and that landed me a recess detention. And a deduction of 10 points from my score since I handed it in late; luckily I got a 98% for my paper, add in my deduction and that becomes 88%, not that bad a score.

*Knock, knock*

"May. You ready? Misty already left." Dawn calls through the door.

"Yeah. Just hang on a second." I smooth out my uniform and check my self over one more time. All good, all clean and everything is in place. Good.

I pick up my bag and unlock my door to reveal Dawn in the exact same uniform, except her tie is a little looser than mine and her skirts a little short than mine.

"Ready?" Dawn asks.

"Ready." Dawn and I loop arms and make down stairs. We head for the garage door. Along with free room and board, we also get a place to park our vehicles. We have two cars between us, an old Toyota and Honda; the Toyota legally belongs to Misty and the Honda legally belongs to Dawn. As for me, my sweet baby is nestled in the corner of the garage. A Ducati Monster 696, which I spent ages saving up for. I even managed a little extra and gave it a paint job; I painted it dark red and styled it with Beautifly silhouettes.

Dawn and I head for her car; normally we'd take Misty's. I notice the Drew's car is still here, a 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse.

"Is Drew still here?" I ask Dawn as I buckle up in the passengers seat.

"Yeah. Apparently he's getting a ride with Ash and Grouchy-face this morning."

I smile to myself at Dawn's nickname for Paul. Ash and Paul are Ashton Ketchum and Paul Richardson, Drew's closest friends.

"Grouchy-face? Really?"

"Well, he is constantly grouchy. It shows on his face all the time, thus 'Grouchy-face'." Dawn starts the engine and uses a garage door remote she open the garage door.

"What are you Dawn? 5-years-old?" I laugh as she drives out, clicking the door behind her using the remote.

"Ha-ha, very funny May. My sides are splitting," Dawn rolls her eyes but laughs with me anyway, "For your information, I'm a mature 18-year-old. Not some whiny 5-year-old."

"Yeah. A mature 18-year-old who uses nicknames like 'Grouchy-face'."

"You can't deny that he's not."

"Ok, I agree that Paul has a somewhat grouchy demeanor. But he's not always grouchy, at least… not when it comes to you."

Dawn doesn't respond; a clear sign that I've got her. Just like I have a strange something for Drew, she's got a strange something for Paul. And he's an antisocial, negative prick while Drew is an arrogant, smart-ass. As for Misty, she's possibly got something going on with Ash; Ash nothing like Drew or Paul, so it makes me wonder how the three of them ever got to be friends. Ash is goofy with a childlike positivity, he's friendly to everyone and gets along well a majority of his peers – he's Mr Nice-Guy.

"Hey May."

"Yes Dawn."

"Did you get a call last night?"

The cheery mood in the car fizzles. So I wasn't the only one to get a call late last night. "Yes. Did you and Misty?"

I glance at Dawn and she nods her head, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Did you answer it?"

"No. Did you?" Asks Dawn.

"No."

"Do you have any idea why he'd call?"

"No. You?"

"No. I mean we told him when we…"

"I know Dawn. But…"

"Look, when we get to school we'll find Misty and pay a visit to the headmaster. He's bound to know something."

"All right." Our conversation ends there. After a discussion like that, what could we say, what was there to talk about after that? Why did he have to call? We made it clear that day. We were finished. He accepted it. He let us go. So why is he calling us now?

Two years… It's been two years… Two years since…

* * *

LaRousse Preparatory (or 'LR Prep.' for short) is the most prominent educational facility in all of LaRousse City. It's a private secondary school; designed to prepare students aged 14–18 for higher education at a university level. And it happens to filled with some of LaRousse City's most posh and stuck-up pricks and princesses, who stick their noses up at or look down at LR Prep's lowly scholarship students.

Such as Dawn, Misty and I. We are three of LR Prep's brightest (and most picked on) scholarship students. As a scholarship student, we pay minimal fees but have to work around the school.

Misty is the assistant to senior girls soccer coach, a position where she has to endure hours of torture from the girls on the team; Dawn is a slave to the school's receptionist and spends hours in the head office buried under mountains of paper work; and I spend all my free time in the library, amongst the obnoxious chatter of students who use the library as a chill hang-out rather than a learning commons.

LaRousse Preparatory is a wonderful place.

Dawn parks her car, at the very back of the car park. Students rarely park this far from the entrance, so it's pretty much the only place where there'll be a vacant spot. I can see Misty's car park a few spots away from us.

"So shall we go find Misty? We've got full half hour till class starts." Dawn swings her backpack over her shoulder and locks her car.

"Yeah. She'll probably be on the sports field."

Dawn nods her head. Her usual cheery, bubbly, active attitude is gone. Is she still thinking about the call? I know I am. We better find Misty quick and get some answers.

We trudge across the car park and swing around the outer building, heading towards the school's massive sports field. The school sports field takes up one-quarter of the property with the rest being buildings and other facilities.

When we arrive, the senior girls soccer team is leaving. I watch as the couch gives Misty orders to put away the sports equipment before picking up her bag and clipboard, and walking away.

"Hey Misty." I greet our friend while she's stuffing soccer balls into a bag.

"Hey girls. What's up?"

"Misty we need to talk." I say. My voice and tone is bland. This gets Misty's full attention.

Misty looks around to ensure that we're alone. "I guess Dawn told you about the call, and I assume you got a call too?"

"Yes. We discussed that we're going to have a talk with Headmaster Stone. Dawn and I figured he'd know something."

"Will he?"

"He's bound to. You know how close those two are." Dawn replies.

"All right. Just let me finish up here and I'll meet you two later, outside his office."

We all nod in agreement.

* * *

The halls of LaRousse Prep are fairly bare this early in the morning; most students don't start arriving till 15 minutes before class starts. So the walk from the front entrance to the head office is a smooth and easy journey for Dawn and I. The last thing we need is a run in with the schools Queen Bee, Alexis Jones, and her hive.

"What if he doesn't know something?" asks Dawn.

"I guarantee you that Mr. Stone knows something. He wouldn't call us and not expect us to ignore the call. He knew we'd ignore it and that we'd go seek information from Mr. Stone." I say as we near the head office.

"Perhaps, but…"

"Trust me Dawn. He knows something."

"Who knows what now?" A pitchy voice calls from behind us. A shiver runs up my spine as Dawn and I reluctantly turn to face our guests.

Alexis Jones, 18-years-old, with cornflower blue eyes, framed by mascara heavy lashes and shoulder-length, wavy brown hair tied back in a high ponytail. She's wearing the girls school uniform expect her skirt extra short and her school shoes have a high heel to them. Surrounding her is her hive. Made up of her right hand girl, Paige Rossi, and three others – Sofia Cook, Penelope Mantege and Carol Grey.

"Hello Alexis. Its nothing, we're just mumbling amongst ourselves." I put on my most polite smile. I really don't want to deal with Alexis and her hive right now.

"Yeah, ok, whatever. Anyway, May. What's the report?"

Oh yeah… Alexis's daily 'Drew Report'. Every day I have to give her a report on Drew.

"Young master Drew ate extra crispy bacon with sunny-side up eggs for breakfast, and he was wearing his uniform when I went to wake him up this morning, so I have no idea what pajamas he wore."

Alexis leers at me before her routine smile and polite happy face return. "Good, thank-you for that. Keep me posted with anything new."

Dawn and I bow slightly as Alexis and her hive pass by. Stuck up, little piece of Barbie doll, wannbie…

"Ugh. I can't believe you have to do that every day." Dawn says as we stand up straight.

"I know. But least by doing this, it spares us some teasing and torture." I say as we continue on our way to the head office.

* * *

Dawn asks Ms. Davis, the school receptionist, if the Headmaster is available this morning and if we could speak to him. Ms. Davis is nice enough but strict on rules and protocol. She tells dawn that he's is available but we have to wait 10 minutes before we can actually see him. We each take a seat in the offices red cushioned chairs.

Just as we sit down, in walks Misty. "Hey guys."

"Hey Misty. We have to wait a few before we can actually see him." Dawn explains and draws up a chair for Misty.

"Great."

Dawn engages Misty in conversation while I pull out my mobile phone from my skirt pocket. I flip it open and open my call history. At the very top of the list is his number, its listed as _Unknown Caller_ but I'd recognize that number anywhere. It's permanently imprinted in my memory.

Two years…it's been two years since we left, the three of us. We left because we wanted to live normal lives. We each agreed that we'd never look back… that we'd walk away from it all… and we told him that, and he agreed… he accepted our decision. He let us leave; he even helped us get settled before vowing to walk out of our lives for good… So why is he calling us now? After two years? And he didn't just call me; he called Dawn and Misty too. That's not a coincidence. There's a reason he tried contacting all three of us.

Ms. Davis voice snaps me out of my thoughts. "Girls, you may go in now."

Dawn, Misty and I each stand up and nod our thanks before proceeding to enter his office.

Seated at his desk is Headmaster Brock Stone. Dressed in a plain grey suit and hunched over his desk reading some papers. He looks up from said papers when he hears us walk in. He smiles when he sees us.

"Miss Maple. Miss Hikari. Miss Waterflower. Good morning. What brings you to my office?" Mr. Stone stands up and reaches out to shake our hands, but we don't extend our hands.

He frowns and retracts his arm.

"Brock we need to talk to you." I say in my steadiest tone possible. A frown forms on Brocks face. He knows I only ever address him by his first name when it's something serious.

He sits back down and leans his arms on his desk, grasping his fingers together. "What do wish to talk about Miss Maple?"

Dawn, Misty and I look at one another before we turn our full attention to Brock. I hold out my mobile phone, showing Brock my call history. "Why is he calling us?"

He glances at my phone for a brief moment, before sighing and leaning back in his chair. "What makes you think I know anything?"

"Don't play dumb with us Brock. You know something." Dawn's happy face and personality has long since flown out the window.

Brock engages us in a staring match. But soon he admits defeat and opens his desk drawer and pulls out a small white envelope. "Here. He asked me to give this to you. He figured you come to me for answers."

Misty reaches out and politely takes the envelope from him. The envelope is blank, no name or address. But there's clearly something inside. I pocket my mobile phone.

"Open it." I order.

Misty carefully runs her finger under the flap and pries the envelope open. She pulls out folded piece of white paper and three tickets. She hands the tickets to me while she unfolds the letter.

Misty reads it aloud. "Dear M, M & D. I know I promised you that I'd leave your lives for good, but something has come up. A development, and I need to speak to you. All three of you. Enclosed with this letter are three tickets, they're a reservations to _The Elegant Rose_ at 7:15pm. I hope to see the three of there. Sincerely, A."

And it's true. In my hands are three reservation tickets to _The Elegant Rose_ at 7:15 pm tonight. _The Elegant Rose_ is a posh and expensive restaurant on the other side of LaRousse City. You have to book reservation tickets weeks in advance in order to eat there; that is, unless you are a member of the higher society crowd. And he was part of that crowd; in fact he's way up there, near the very top.

"Is this all he gave you?" I tear my gaze from the tickets and look Brock dead in the eyes.

"That's all he gave me. He told me to expect you in here and that I should give that you when you asked about his call."

"So he knew we'd come to you?" asked Dawn.

"Yes. He did."

"Did you ask why?" asks Misty.

"Yes. He said that he wants you back. _The Butterfly Court_ wants you to come out of retirement."

* * *

I watch the clock in my History class; it's 3:18pm. Come on. Seven minutes to go before I'm out of here.

Ever since this morning, since the girls and I left Brocks office, I've been plagued with thoughts of _The Court_. Why are they calling us back? Especially after we made it painfully and plainfully clear that we didn't want to ever comeback. Misty and Dawn had agreed that I should be the one to hold on to the tickets. I said it wasn't a good idea, but they insisted. They're in my skirt pocket right now. Right now all I want to do is take them out and tear them into confetti-sized pieces. But I know better. There's a reason why he's calling us back and against my better judgment I have to know why.

The end of school bell rings and I'm out of there. I pack up my belongings and speed walk as fast as I'm capable. I'm supposed to meet Dawn by her car; Misty said she'd take hers and go on ahead to get things ready.

I make it halfway across the car park when I bump into Drew and his friends.

"In a hurry May?" Drew shoots me a teasing smile as he steadies me by hold my shoulders.

"Sorry. But yes, I am in a hurry." I step back and bow my head slightly.

"Where you going?" asks Drew. Paul stands next to him, his hands in his pockets, looking bored. Next to him is Ash, who's smiling at me. I smile back.

"Dawn, Misty and I have plans to go out later night. We want to get home early and get ready. If that's alright with you." I bow once more and look at Drew.

Drew eyes me for a second. He's not smirking or smiling. What is he thinking? "Where are you going?"

"A friend of Dawn's is visiting and they're only in the city for a while. So the girls and I figured it be nice to have dinner with them before they leave." The mention of Dawn has Paul looking at me. He was bored earlier, but now he's mildly intrigued, or as intrigued as Paul can be.

"Really? Where are you having dinner?" asks Drew.

"A small restaurant on the other side of the city. _Persian Noodles._"

"I love _Persian Noodles_. Do you mind if we come along?" asks Ash.

"That would be great Ash, but it's sort of a private friend thing. You understand right?"

Ash looks a little put out but quickly recovers. "Sure. I understand May."

"So is it alright if we clock out from work early so we can go?" I ask Drew.

He leers at me for a second, but quickly regains his usual calm and cool expression. "Sure."

"Thank-you." I bow once more before edging my way around the three of them and speed walking towards Dawn's car; where she's already waiting for me.

When I climb into her car she's shooting me a questioning stare. "What was that about?" She nudges her head towards the guys.

"Nothing. I ran into them accidentally. They were just asking why I was in such a hurry." I say as I buckle my seatbelt and motion for her to start the car.

"What did you tell them?" Dawns ask as she starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot.

"That we're going out to meet a friend of yours and have dinner with them over at _Persian Noodles_."

"Why'd you say he was my friend?"

"I had to come up with something quick. That's the first thing to pop into my head."

Dawn sighs but lets it go. Leaving the remainder of the ride home to be encased in silence.

* * *

Dawn pulls into the garage and turns off the engine.

"So before we go, we have to set up for Drew's dinner, take a shower, get ready and go," I say.

"Right," agrees Dawn.

We exit the garage into the house. We rush up into out rooms. I enter my room and strip myself of my uniform, and put on my maid's uniform. I meet Dawn in the hall and together we head for the kitchen.

Misty is talking to Jeremy Antone. "What's Drew having for dinner?" I ask.

"I'm preparing a smoked salmon and char grilled vegetable panzanella dish, for the young master." Replies Jeremy, shooting us a grin from over his shoulder.

"Sounds delish." I smile as I start to take out serving plates, utensils and glasses. Dawn walks away into the dining room to get it set up, while Misty assists Jeremy by preparing the vegetables.

"Hey Jeremy, did Misty tell you? We're going out tonight to have dinner with a friend." I ask.

"Indeed she did, which wounds me a little inside," Jeremy mocks as he places a hand over his heart, "You're taking out a friend rather than asking me to assist by preparing a home cooked meal."

I smile at his little joke. "Sorry Jeremy, but they're treating us and it would be rude to refuse."

"I know, I know, but…"

"How's this… next time we have a friend come visit, we'll convince them to let you cook for us. Sound good?"

"Sounds magnificent."

"Are we forgiven?" asks Dawn as she walks back in to collect the plates and utensils from me.

"But of course my sweet little doves."

We all smile and laugh together. Jeremy always called us his little doves; it was his own sweet title of endearment. It's just another part of his big, bright, considerate, sweet personality.

* * *

After setting up Drew's dinner, the girls and I rushed up stairs to shower and get ready. Considering we were going to _The Elegant Rose_ we had to dress semi-formally. So from my closet I pulled out a knee length red dress with bubble cap sleeves and a black belt sewn in below the bust. To go with it, I picked out a pair of simple black, low heeled stilettos. I straightened out my hair and put in a plastic crystal clip to hold back my hair. I also grabbed my long grey coat to cover it up; something like this would look a little out of place at _Persian Noodles_. And if we're going to convince Drew that, that's where we're going then we better cover up.

I met the girls in the hall and together we snuck past the dining hall and into the garage. We agreed to take Misty's car, since was newer looking than Dawn's.

"Are we sure we're all ready?" I ask the girls as we climb in.

Dawn is wearing a slim fitting, strapless royal blue dress (to match her hair) with the skirt ending a few inches above her knees, paired with short black heels. Her hair is straightened out and she replaced her usual yellow barrettes with plastic crystal ones.

Misty is wearing a cerulean blue, knee-length dress with three-quarter sleeves and sweetheart neckline, paired with black ballet flats. Her normally tied up hair is now loose and flowing over her shoulders in soft orange waves.

Misty and Dawn nod their head in agreement. Misty started the car and Dawn used her remote to open the garage door. We are on our way.

* * *

The moment we step through the front doors of _The Elegant Rose_ we flashed our tickets and led to a five-seat table near the back. The tables around it are bare, which is fitting considering who we're going to meet. Already seated was a young man in his late twenties with short green hair, neatly styled. He's wearing a flattering black suit with an emerald green tie, and he's reading the menu – waiting for us.

The waiter pulls out our chairs and professionally seats us and presents us with the menu, saying that he'd be back to take our order. We thank him as he walks away. The moment he's out of earshot, we put our menus down, as does our host.

He smiles faintly at us, his dark green eyes twinkling. "Hello Girls. I'm glad you accepted my invitation."

The girls and I glance at each other before turning our full attention to him.

"Hello Aaron."

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. This story is something that has been flying around in my head for a while and I'm finally committing it into written words. **

**PS. Aaron is Aaron of the Sinnoh Elite Four, but he's retired. (Not a spoiler, just a heads-up note)**

**I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can. **

**:)**

**- LadySilentEagle**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for my tardiness in getting this chapter out. Things kept popping up, not to mention Pokemon X & Y came out. So I'll be taking quite a bit of time out for that. Please, continue to be patient. Thank-you. **

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters, just the story and any OC's.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO**

Aaron Beaumontt, 28-years-old with attractive, dark green eyes and well-kept, stylish green hair. He's the sole heir to the Beaumontt family fortune and future leader of the family business. He's a strategic genius and skilled ladies gentleman, a former member of the Sinnoh Elite Four and a Bug-type trainer/enthusiast… and our former boss.

"Glad to see you girls are doing well, and it seems you've matured quite well over the past two years." He picks up his glass of white champagne, swirls the drink around before lifting it to his lips and taking a sip.

"Cut the chatter Aaron. Why did you invite us here?" asks Misty; a pleasant and formal smile plastered on her face, but I can tell that she's just about ready to jump and shake him silly for information.

He peers at Misty over the top of his wine glass. "I see that you'd like to get straight to the point."

"We all do." I say. I'm in no mood to deal with Aaron's 'round-the-bush' attitude.

He puts his glass down. "Very well. Though may I suggest we eat something first. We might as well enjoy a fine meal while we're here."

I leer at him for a moment before settling a polite smile on my face and nod my head. "Fine." I pick up my menu. He invited us here and I hear this place has excellent dishes. Might as well take advantage of the situation. From the corner of my eye I can see Aaron smiling at me. He remembers my love of food. Damn him.

"You girl can order anything you like. It's my treat." _Generous_…_ but that's nothing new. He's all ways been this way._

He lifts up a hand and waves down a waiter; the waiter from earlier approaches. "What will you and the young ladies like to order this evening sir?"

"I'll have the 'Chinese roast pork with orange sauce', and then the 'White chocolate and passion fruit cheesecake' for dessert." Orders Aaron as the waiter professionally takes down his order before turning his attention to us.

"I'll have the 'Lamb steak with pecorino mash and artichokes'. Then, for dessert, I'll have the 'Pineapple and line millefeuille'." Dawn smiles at the waiter as he takes her order.

"I'd like the 'Fish with asparagus risotto and thyme mascarpone'. Then the 'Torrijas with honey cream' for dessert." Misty smiles and thanks the waiter.

"I'd like to order the 'Tomato-feta tarts with lemon and oregano, and Lamb fillets with zucchini fritters and tahini sauce'. As for dessert, I'd like the 'Strawberry vanilla ice-cream terrine'." I smile and thank the waiter as he takes my order.

The waiter bows and assures us that our meals will be along shortly. Once he's gone, we turn our attention back to Aaron.

Aaron sighs and, "Alright. I've invited you here because I wish to discuss reinstating the three of you back into the agency."

"Why?" I ask. I thought we made it clear that we'd never come back; we made it extra clear the day we left.

"Look, I know I promised you three that it was over. That you were free to leave and live the life you wished. But there's been a development and there's no one else I can think of to take lead."

"Take lead on what?" asks Misty, her eyes narrowing; Aaron's got less than 5 minutes to make this worth listening to before Misty starts using force.

But before Aaron can answer, the waiter returns with our meals. So as not to spoil our meal, we eat in a not-so-comfortable silence. My mind is racing with cluttered thoughts. What sort of situation has arisen that would require us to take lead? It has to be fairly serious if he's trying to bring us back in. Not to toot my own horn, but Misty, Dawn and I were some of the very best the agency had. In fact, we were the best. Second only to Aaron and Burgh, who are the ones in charge.

While I enjoyed my tomato-feta tarts, I eyed Aaron closely. His face gave no signs or tells, which is expected of a senior agent, especially the senior Head Agent.

"Scorpio."

I drop my fork. My posture instantly goes rigid and I spring to attention, my eyes wide as I stare at Aaron who doesn't look disturbed in the slightest. In the corner of my eyes I see Dawn pause with her fork halfway to her mouth, her eyes going completely bug-eyed. As for Misty, she's mirroring my expression; her fork drops to the floor and her eyes are almost like saucers.

"What?"

Aaron puts down his fork and uses his napkin to wipe away the invisible sauce from his lips. He looks up at the three of us with apologetic, but calm, eyes. "Three nights ago, Alexander Scorpio broke out of prison."

"You… You can't be serious." Misty says, hastily leaning down to pick up her fork and carelessly dropping it on her napkin.

"I'm afraid I am. He's out and I need your help to catch him. Aside from Burgh and I, there's no one else who knows the case better than you three. After all, you three took lead on the original case."

He's right. As much as I hated to admit it, Aaron is right.

Alexander Scorpio (though he referred to himself as the 'Magister' (The Master)) was the leader of Team Desolation – an organization bent on taking control of the five most prominent families in the country.

The Butterfly Court is tasked with the absolute safety of the countries five most prominent families. Dawn, Misty and I were once the Court's best agents. We took on some of the worst criminals to have ever targeted the families. But Alexander… Scorpio… He was unlike any other enemy we'd faced before.

When we first took on his case, we had just turned 15-years-old; it took us a whole year to catch him, we caught him a week or so before our 16th birthday.

During our investigation, we learnt that he once held the title of Pokemon Champion – he'd won the Hoenn League and Unova League years before. He was unpredictable and sadistic. In our pursuit of him, we witnessed first hand his cruel ambition to have control of the five families and their fortunes.

Before accepting the case, he'd made numerous assassination attempts on two of the families - killing bodyguards and innocent house workers in his pursuit of the family heirs. We foiled his following attempts. Then we discovered he had a team and together they were working to accomplish his goals. Then there were his actions against pokémon. He killed humans and worked/abused pokemon to the point where they were half dead. I remember the day we confronted him in full battle, we were tingling with eager anticipation at the thought of finally bringing down this madman.

We'd found Team Desolation's HQ and staged an attack. Aaron and the other members of the Court handled the grunts and his commanders, but it was Dawn, Misty and I who took on Scorpio head on. He wiped the floor with us. Dawn and Misty were badly beaten and I was the last one left standing. It took all I had left to take him down. And if it hadn't been for Misty and Dawn weakening some of his pokemon first, I wouldn't have won. I remember the way my heart raced as I struggled to remaining standing and continue the battle. I also recall the intense aura radiating off Blaziken, refusing to bow down to Scorpio's pokémon.

Scorpio held no regards as to who got hurt during our fight, even his own pokémon. The look in his eyes, on that day, was one of lust. Lust for power, for battle and for pain.

That's why it was such a relief when we received news that he was given a life sentence, with the death penalty looming over his head. Not long after that case, the three of us retired. After something like that, all we wanted to do was forget, move on and live a normal life. We decided that we'd dealt with enough.

"How?" I ask Aaron. My meal is completely spoiled. I don't think I can eat another bite.

"We're still looking into it. But… we suspect that he had help from an_ inmate_." The look in Aaron's eyes… he's keeping something back. The way he said inmate…

"Aaron, who helped him?" I ask.

Aaron glances around at the three of us. He's hesitant. He doesn't want to tell us, that much is clear. They way he hesitates… it's as if… whoever helped Scorpio is worse than Scorpio. Who's worse than a sadistic, power-hungry, battle-craving, intelligent madman?

"Aaron, who helped Scorpio?" Misty repeats my question.

Aaron glances at me. "Fallon."

My heartbeat stops. No. No, no, no, no…

* * *

"Fallon."

_Shit!_ I watch as May's face pales considerably. I look to Dawn and she looks just as sick as May. I can only imagine what's going through their minds right now.

When Aaron says Fallon, I instantly know he means Sebastian Fallon. He was one of the few criminals, aside from Scorpio, that we considered to be the worst of the worst. Though I could not speak from experience, just from what I heard and witnessed.

Sebastian worked as a Valet at _LaRousse Hotel_, a hotel with it's own private restaurant that was often frequented by the five families and numerous other wealthy patrons. Sebastian preyed upon female patrons around his age, and when he targeted the daughter of the Callaway family, we were called in to work with the police.

Sebastian's ruse was to charm his intended victim, lure them out to meet with him later and then kidnap them while they're in route. He changed the location with every victim, so we had to trick him in order to catch him.

We sent in Dawn and May undercover as waitresses. I was assigned as a receptionist. The plan was for either May or Dawn to become Sebastian's victim, then they'd text us the location he'd given them so we could set up points ahead of time. Together the team would come in and arrest him.

But the plan had gone a little awry. Sebastian somehow caught on to our plan and changed his tactics; he grabbed May and Dawn just as they were leaving the hotel, which threw us off his trail for a bit. In the short time of distraction… Sebastian… What he did to them… By the time we located him and found May and Dawn… They were so battered and bruised… Occasionally I had nightmares about it… I still do, even now… I felt so guilty for weeks… Guilty that I hadn't been there to help them… Save them…They said it wasn't my fault and that I shouldn't feel guilty… But… the images…I don't even want to imagine the nightmares Dawn and May have…

Then I remember something. "Hang on. Fallon was put in Lilycove Prison and Scorpio in Monsu Island Prison." I state.

Aaron sighs. "He was. Due to an over-sight, Fallon was transferred to Monsu Island Prison. Two weeks prior to Scorpio's escape, Lilycove Prison began renovations. They had to temporarily transfer some of the inmates. Handfuls of inmates were transferred to other prisons; Fallon was sent to Monsu Island."

_Shit!_

"But why would Fallon help Scorpio? Sure they're both criminals, but they have completely different goals!" Dawn snaps out of it and raises her voice. This burst snaps May out of it, but not completely. Just by looking at her face I can just tell she's still remembering her nightmare.

Aaron tries to shush Dawn. "We aren't sure why Fallon helped Scorpio. Only thing we're sure of is that they're both out and working together."

This is too much. Scorpio and Fallon. There's no way… I look to May and I watch her as her brow furrows. I can see hesitation in her eyes, mixed with sickness and fear. But despite all that, her posture and aura tells me that she's angry and when I say angry, I mean 'a bull seeing red' angry.

"So you want to reinstate us in order to catch them." May states. She doesn't question. It's clear that this is what Aaron wants of the three of us.

Question is… what will we do?

* * *

Misty kills the ignition. Dawn climbs out of the car first with Misty right behind her. They slowly make their way inside, tired and mentally exhausted. I'm right behind them, but I move at a much slower pace.

We left the restaurant without finishing our meals or waiting for dessert; not that any of us could actually stomach any sort of food right now. Scorpio… and Fallon… both of them are out now. I just can't believe it. After all the work, the girls and I put in into placing them behind bars… I don't know whether I should be angry or scared. Right now, I feel both; I'm both and angry and scared that they're out there and working together.

Dawn and Misty make they're way upstairs; I turn and head for the kitchen instead. I'm not hungry. But I really could use a drink right now. It's not a smart move, but I still could use one.

I flick on the kitchen light and head straight towards the cupboards that house the wine flutes. I pick up a flute and take it over with me toward the wine rack cupboard, near the back corner of the kitchen. Hopefully, Drew won't notice one bottle missing. Though right now, I don't really care if he does. Perhaps some light teasing and flirting can lift my mood.

I pick a bottle of Merlot wine and together with the wine flute, I bring them over to the kitchen island and hop up to sit with the bottle and flute next to me. I lean over and open the drawer that holds the wine bottle opener. I pop the cork and pour myself a bit.

I place the bottle back down next to me and take a sip. _Mmm… Nice…_ It's been a while since I last drank. The cool richness of the grape soothed my nerves and calmed my senses.

"Drinking alone Maple?"

I don't even have to look up to know who it is. "Yes, though if you joined me I won't be."

I hear Drew chuckle. He comes to stand in front of me, boxing my legs in as he places his hands on the island table top, on either side of my knees. He looks up at me, smirking and shooting me bedroom eyes. I swear if I didn't know him as well as I did, I'd be fawning over him like one of his lovesick fangirls right now.

"You do know I'll be docking your pay for stealing my wine." Drew states, his smirk deepening.

I take another sip and then swish the wine around in the lute. "Does it count as stealing if you drink it with me?" I give him a look.

The smirk on Drew's face fades as he eyes me closely. "May…" He whispers my name. "Why are you drinking?" The soft tone in his voice sends involuntary shivers up and down my spine. I hate it.

"No reason. Why? Is it crime?" My voice is dead and droopy.

Drew's brow creases. He reaches up and gently takes the flute away from me. Sets it down and pushes it and the wine bottle away. "May… Why are you drinking? And more importantly, why are you dressed like that? You're a bit over dressed for a dinner at _Persian Noodles_."

I look straight into his eyes and I can't help but want to reach out and caress his face, but I restrain myself. It's the wine talking. Misty always says I can never hold my drink, even if it's just two or three sips. "Do I get more of my pay docked for lying?"

Drew quirks a brow, a hint of a smirk tugging at his lips. "Depends. What did you lie about?"

"Where the girls and I went."

"Where did you go?" Drew's eyes bore into mine.

I lie. "_Tower Palace_." _Tower Palace_ is an expensive restaurant located near the Battle Tower. It's not as expensive or as exclusive as the _Elegant Rose_ but it will help explain my attire.

"Why would you lie?"

Is it me, or does he look irked? Is he mad? Why would he be mad? It was a little lie, nothing to be mad about. I don't reply. Instead I look down and let my hair shadow my face.

Drew steps closer to me and lifts my head up. His eyes are now level with my mine; normally my eyes would meet his neck.

"May… Why did you lie?" He repeats his question. His eyes search mine - wondering what is up with me.

I sigh and turn away, reaching for the wine. But Drew grabs my hand. I whine and make a mumble complaint about him not letting me drink.

"May, tell me why you lied."

"Why? What do you care?" Not sure if it's the wine or the proximity to Drew, but I can feel my cheeks heating up.

Drew doesn't answer, but instead just looks at me with a serious face. I miss his cocky, charming, bedroom eyed, smirking expression. Give me that back, stupid Drew. We remain here, staring at one another, waiting for either one of us to say something. Eventually…

"I lied because I don't think it's necessary for you to know where I am every time of the day. I lied about where the girls and I went because we were meeting up with an old friend. I lied because _he _is an important old friend who invited us out to a nice restaurant. I lied because it's my life and I can lie if I want to." I huff out the last part as I shake off his grip.

Drew's frown deepens a fraction, but I still notice it. My cheeks a red, I'm sure they are. But despite my flustered state, I continue…

"There! Are you happy now Drew? That's why I lied. Okay? Now will you let me have my drink back?" I lift my arm as a means to shove him away and then grab my drink, but Drew grabs my wrist again and pulls me off the counter. He then grabs my arms and pins me against it, the edge of the counter digging into my back.

"Hey! Wha…" The serious and angry expression on Drew's face stops me.

"No May. I'm not happy. You lied to me," Drew's breath is hot against my face, "but I can deal with that. However, the attitude your displaying is something I'm not going to put up with." He loosens his hold and back ups a little. The pressure of the counter edge against my back lessens. Drew moves his hands from my arms and places them on the island counter. Boxing me in against the island, but giving me sufficient space.

"May. What is up with you? You normally don't drink and earlier, when I first walked in and boxed you, you would've pushed me away instantly."

I look at Drew. He's right. Normally I'd have avoided his advances or pushed him away. This isn't like me. But… _Damn!_ It's the wine mixed with this evenings events. It's messing up my brain and my thought processes.

Before we left, Aaron said that we didn't have to agree and that he'd give us till tomorrow afternoon to decide. He told us to call him once the three of us came to a unanimous decision. He said that the agency wants all three of us or none of us. But after what he told us… Who's now out there? …Knowing people will get hurt and/or killed… That we can do something and prevent a tragedy… Can we really say no?

"May…" Drew's voice snaps me out of my thoughts. He's frowning at me.

"Sorry," I slump against the island counter, "I'm sorry. You're right. I'm not feeling… I'm not myself right now. It was the dinner. It… Let's just say that it didn't go _pleasantly_. I'm sorry I brought my bad mood home with me."

I bow my head as I attempt to slump down further, but Drew's hand grasps my chin and lifts my head. He's no longer serious, instead he's worried and… relieved.

"May. Go to bed. Get some rest." He pulls me to a proper standing position and gently pushes me towards the door. I nod and mumble a thank-you. Then, as if on autopilot, I walk towards the door.

"Oh, and May…" I half turn and glance over my shoulder at Drew. "I'm still docking your pay for drinking my wine." He smirks.

I groan and walk away.

* * *

"I've told you before you can't hold your drink." Misty scolds me as I groan from the sound of the school bell affecting my headache. I should've packed some aspirin and bought a water bottle.

"Misty. Please…"

"Aww. Poor May." Dawn giggles as she pats me on the head like a puppy.

It's recess; the girls and I are heading towards the bleachers so we can sit up the very back and relax in the shade. My head is killing me. Who knew a few sips of wine could give me such a big, sick headache. Damn you wine.

"Dawn." I whine.

"Sorry, sorry. Look, just sit down and relax. I'll get you some water. You just need to drink lots of water." Dawn says as she breaks away to go find some water.

Misty and I continue for the bleachers. Fortunately, Alexis isn't at school today (so no Drew report) and the bleachers are currently bare. Something I am very thankful for right now.

Misty and I sit at the very top seats. I turn and lie down, taking over four seats, and rest my head on Misty's lap. I groan and raise my arm up to cover my eyes.

"May, why were you drinking?" Misty asks.

"Aaron." I mumble-groan.

"Ahhh," Misty says knowingly, "Have you come to a decision yet? Or is your headache still affecting your thought processes?"

I purposefully ignore her question. Instead I say, "I hate wine."

Misty chuckles. "Then why did you drink wine last night?"

"I needed a drink. I needed something to take the edge off. I just didn't expect it have such a crappy after affect," I groan.

"Well, you are a lousy drinker. Two sips of wine and you're already feeling woozy."

"I know."

"Then, I'll ask again, why did you drink?"

I half sigh and half groan as I move my arm to stare up at Misty, who's smiling down at me; there's a miniature-teasing glint in her eyes.

"Two years Misty. It's been two years since we left. We vowed that we were done with that chapter of our lives," I sigh as my sight moves from Misty to stare at the metal covers above, "being an agent had its perks: we had fun, we went on adventures, and we did so knowing that we were doing good. That we were saving lives. It was our job to ensure the safety of the Families. And we were the best at what we did. Our track record was spotless; we never filed a single mission. But…" I sit up and turn, so that I'm sitting properly in the seat. I stare out onto the school field. "After that last case with Scorpio… I don't know… Something changed."

"I know. I was there, remember," Misty says, a smile in her voice, "battling Scorpio… That has to have been the toughest battle we have ever been in. But, you managed to take him down in the end."

"We. _We_ managed to take him down. I couldn't have done on my own. It took all three of us."

"But you delivered the final blow. In the very end, you brought him down."

I turn away from the school field to stare at Misty, dead on. "And now he's back."

"Who's back?"

Misty and I whip our heads around. Standing behind us is Ash and Dawn; Dawn is carrying two water bottles. Dawn is shooting us apologetic eyes while Ash has his brow quirked, wondering what we're talking about. I quickly glance behind them to check if Drew and Paul are with them, fortunately, they're not.

I quickly flash Ash a trained, happy smile and lie. "Hi Ash. Just an old friend of ours; the one I told you about the other day, the one we went to have dinner with."

"Oh… Ok!" Ash smiles brightly, "Hi May, Hi Misty. Do you girls mind if I hang out with you? Dawn said I could, but I want to make sure you two are ok with it."

I smile. Ash is such a sweetheart; I still can't fathom how he's friends with Drew and Paul. "Sure, it's fine Ash. Right Misty?" I turn to look at Misty. Misty smiles and nods her head.

Ash's smile brightens as he occupies the seat next to me, and Dawn occupies the seat next to him. She hands me a water bottle and I smile gratefully. I unscrew the lid and take a gulp of refreshing and life saving water. I continue gulping down more water, till the bottle is two-thirds empty.

"Whoa, May, take it easy with the water." Ash smiles with a concerned tone.

"She has a tiny hangover." Misty explains.

"Ahhh." Ash nods his head knowingly, "I didn't know you drink."

"She normally doesn't." Dawn puts in.

"So why did she?" Ash asks.

"Let's just say she had a stressful night, last night and needed the relief." Dawn says as she smiles, handing me the second water bottle.

"Ok, how much did she drink?" Ash looks back and forth between Misty and Dawn.

"I'm right here you know," I say as I finish off the first bottle and unscrew the lid of second one, "and I only had a few sips of Merlot wine."

"And you have a hangover?"

"A tiny one, ok." I groan as I start gulping down the second bottle of water.

"She can't hold her drinks." Misty butts in, I leer at her and she just smiles innocently back at me.

"So Ash, where are Grasshead and Grouchy-face?" I ask after draining half the water bottle.

Ash looks at me, brow quirked.

"I mean Drew and Paul."

"Oh…" Ash looks lost for a second before a smile spreads across his face, "I get it. Grasshead cause Drew has green hair and Grouchy-face cause Paul rarely smiles…right?"

I nod my head, Misty hums approval, and Dawn says 'yep'.

"Drew is talking with his English Literature teacher about his latest assignment project, and Paul is meeting with the Senior Boys Basketball team. They've got a game in two weeks."

"Leaving you on your own." I state smiling.

Ash flashes a mock sad puppy face, "Yeah. Drew and Paul are mean."

"Aww." Dawn and I laugh as we hug Ash, Misty is laughing in the background.

"Don't worry Ash, you can hang with us anytime you like. We aren't mean like Grasshead and Grouchy-face." Dawn smiles.

"Really?"

"Sure. Friends hang out with friends." Misty says.

"We're friends?" Ash puts on a sad puppy face.

"Of course we are." I smile as I ruffle his messy black hair. The girls and I have known Ash for as long as we've known Drew. Though we never really got much time to connect and hangout, Ash is a really good friend. He's just so… likeable and friendly.

"Hey, do you mind if I use those nicknames too? Grasshead and Grouchy-face?" Ash asks us.

"Sure. Go ahead," Dawn says eagerly, "especially Grouchy-face. Definitely Grouchy-face."

Ash laughs. "Sure. But, you know… Paul and Drew aren't as bad as you think. I mean, I'm friends with them and I even consider them my best friends."

"Perhaps. But, you know them better than we do." I say while looking pointedly at Ash, "As far as they've shown us… Drew's a charmer with an master-know-it-all attitude, while Paul is an antisocial human being who looks down on others."

"Also, have you forgotten, we work for Drew as his housemaids. We know parts of life that we wish we didn't." Misty points out while making a face. I guess she's probably thinking about the time she accidentally walked in on Drew wrapping a towel around his waist, after he'd just stepped out of the shower. I remember her bursting into my room, red faced, mumbling profanities and muttering about having horrid nightmares. I snicker at the memory. Misty hears me and nudges me in my ribs with her elbow.

Ash just looks at us weird. "But, since you live with Drew, you should know him really well, right?"

"True. But our relationship with Drew is prohibited to master and servant, if we have sort of relationship with him at all, it's as mutual acquaintances." Dawn puts in.

"Why? Just because you work for him doesn't mean you can't be friends with him. Or is there a rule about forming relationships with your employer? Drew never really explained it." Ash asks, confused, "And what about Paul? Sure Paul's a little cold, but if you got to know him, he's actually pretty cool."

"Cool as in cold? We're already aware he's cold, cold and anti-social." Dawn says.

"Yeah, but…"

"Ash, I think you need to stop trying to convince us to be friends with Drew and Paul." Misty reaches behind me to pat Ash on the shoulder, "Especially May and Dawn."

"Why? Drew and Paul are great." Ash says.

I stand up, turn to face Ash and look him straight in the eye. "Ash. Drew and Paul are your friends and if you think they're great, then that's great. But as far as the three of us are concerned, we have no interest in how great you think they are and how good friends they are. We don't want to be friends with either Drew or Paul. Okay?"

Ash looks down, looking a little put down and sad, and nods his head. "Yeah. Ok. I understand."

I lean down and place a supportive and comforting hand on his shoulder (the one Misty isn't touching of course), this makes Ash look back up at me. I smile, a genuine smile. "Ash. You can't _make_ someone be friends with someone else if they don't want to. That's a choice only the individual person can make. But it's sweet that you think so highly of your friends. Drew and Paul are lucky to have you as a friend."

Ash smiles, a small smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"And so are we." Misty smiles at him.

Ash smiles at Misty, and then he turns to look at Dawn who's nodding her head and flashing him a glowing smile.

"Well, even if you're reluctant to be friends with Drew and Paul," Ash says, "I'm honored you're friends with me." All our smiles brighten as the girls and I say 'Aww' and hug him, laughing with happiness. Ash hugs us back and we all laugh together.

We spend the remainder of recess laughing and joking, telling stories about embarrassing moments and fun times, and in the process we learnt more about each other.

* * *

It hasn't changed one bit in the last two years; still the same old grey stone building with little, tinted windows. I remember when the girls and I first walked out its doors and never looked back.

The _Court_ HQ is a regular looking office building built at the far end of the city, blending in with the dozens of business buildings around it. But what the occupants of the surrounding buildings are unaware of is that there's a series of underground passages and rooms that is the real HQ.

Rather than call Aaron, Misty, Dawn and I decided to go to HQ directly and give him our answer face to face.

I've given it some real thought, once my headache cleared up, and talked it over with Dawn and Misty. They've been giving it some real hard thought too. After some small arguments, we finally came to a unanimous decision.

"Ready?" I ask Dawn and Misty.

"Ready." Dawn nods her head.

"Ready." Misty nods her head.

Together we march up to the doors. I reach into my pocket and pull out my old ID Key card. I spent most of the afternoon, before coming here, digging around my room. The day we left, I recall tossing my ID Key card into one of my old novels and just forgot about it. It was one of my least favourite novels, but I never throw out any books, whether I like them or not. It's a simple, rectangular, white metal card with our agent ID number, our code name and our picture when we're in our uniform and mask.

I swipe my card in the slot and the door automatically opens. A gush of cool air greets us as we step in. The girl at the receptionist desk looks up and her expression becomes one of surprise.

"May! Misty! Dawn!" Solana jumps up from her chair and runs to greet us, her trusty Furret trailing behind her, calling its name in happiness. Solana hugs me while Furret jumps into Misty's arms.

"Hello Furret." Misty pets Furret on her head. Furret purrs out its name.

"Hey Solana." I smile at Solana. She smiles back at me before turning to hug Dawn, and then Misty.

"Hey Sol." Says Misty.

"Good to see you, Solana." Says Dawn.

"Furret!" Furret jumps from Misty's shoulder to mine and cuddles up against my cheek.

"Hello Furret." I cuddle back. Dawn walks up to us and pets Furret's head. "Hey Furret, we're happy to see you too." Furret cheers its name.

"What are you girls doing here?" Solana asks as she steps back; Furret jumps off my shoulder and lands on hers. Solana Esperanza is a junior agent of the _Court_, even if she is older than us by a full year. She's got peach pink eyes and short black hair with pink highlights.

"We're here to talk to Aaron. Is he in his office?" I ask. Solana's smile falters a little. She knows.

"Yes. You can take the elevator straight up." Solana bows and holds out her arm, directing to the metal doors of the elevator behind her.

"Thanks Solana. It's great to see you again." I say as the girls and I bow back before walking off towards the doors.

I swipe my ID Key card in the slot once again and the elevator doors open. We step in.

* * *

Aaron is seated at his glossy, rich oak desk, typing away at his keyboard with his Vespiquen hovering close by. She's the first to notice us and her cry catches Aaron's attention, he stops and looks up at us. First a look of surprise passes across his face, and then a happy smile forms.

"Girls, this is a surprise. I was expecting a call, not a personal visit." He stands up from his desk and motions for us to take a seat in the plush green chairs in front of his desk.

"We thought it'd be best to deliver our answer personally, considering the problem." I say as I sit in the chair directly in front of his desk. Misty sits to my right and Dawn sits to my left.

"So, you've all come to a unanimous decision?" Aaron sits back down and leans forward, resting his elbows on the desk and his chin on his clasped hands.

"Yes." Says Dawn, "We talked it over and we've come to a unanimous decision."

"Which is?" Aaron asks as he quirks a brow.

I look to Misty, who nods, and then to Dawn, who also nods.

I look back to Aaron. I take a breath…

"We're in."

* * *

**And there you have it.**** I hope that I haven't disappointed anyone by making them wait too long. **

**I'm buried under a mountain of work and stories right now. Plus, the new Pokemon X and Y games. (I got Pokemon X! So happy!) So just to forewarn you, the next chapter may not come out for a while. **

**- LadySilentEagle**


	3. Chapter 3

**My deepest apologies for my tardiness. I've had to deal with a bunch of other things, so I had to put writing stories off for a little while. But I'm back on and here's Chapter Three - enjoy! : )**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters, just the story and any OC's.**

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**

"As far as we know, Scorpio and Fallon are moving towards LaRousse. We are unsure of their _exact_ location, but we've all our best satellites taking constant scans of the area." Aaron informs as he ushers us out of the elevator and into a mini roller coaster cart. This cart will take us straight into _Court _HQ. I sit next to Aaron up front while Misty and Dawn sit behind us.

"How soon would you like us to be out in the field searching for them?" I ask as I pull down the safety bar and secure my self and Aaron in our seat.

"I'm not putting you on the search team."

"What? Then where are you assigning us?"

Before Aaron can answer, the cart takes off and we're racing along metal tracks, deep down into the underground. I forgot how much I hate this part; I've now got to grow accustomed to the twists, turns and speed of the ride all over again. I close my eyes and try to steady my breathing into a smooth in-and-out flow. Willing my stomach into not bringing up the contents of my lunch and sharing it with everyone in the cart.

By the time we stop, my head is spinning and my stomach is doing the cha-cha - god how I hate this stupid cart. _Note to self: Discuss with Aaron an alternate means of transport into HQ – also, addition of vomit bags to the cart._

"May, are you alright?" Misty helps me out of the cart.

"I hate this thing." I mutter and rub my stomach.

"I agree." Dawn mutters with me, holding her head.

"Come along girls." Aaron says as he walks ahead, straight towards the command center. How does he manage to maintain composure while riding that thing?

I groan and follow, the girls are right behind me. I look around and re-familiarize my-self with the cold steel walls and corridors of HQ. My mind automatically recalls where each and every corridor and doorway leads. The infirmary. Each of the five training rooms – each training room is equipped for different skills and battle styles. The Cafeteria. The spare bunker rooms for agents who needed some alternate place to stay for the night. The garage. The Tech Room. The change rooms and bathrooms. The Weapons room – not that we had much need for it since we have our pokémon – and finally the Command Center – the heart of HQ, the heart of the _Butterfly Court_.

"Aaron, you never answered my question?" I say as we enter the command center.

"Do my ears mistake me, or is that the voice of one Maybelle Maple I hear?" Standing up on the viewing platform, in front of the wide screen with his back to us, is the one and only curly brown haired and well-dressed Burgh Magnus.

"Hello Burgh, it's good to see you again." I smile as Burgh spins around in his 'dazzling' manner.

"May. Misty. Dawn. It's wonderful to see you girls again." Burgh steps down and approaches us. He takes turns giving us air kisses on the cheek.

"I'm both surprised and disappointed to see you girls back here again. But, glad all the same." He smiles and leads us up onto the viewing platform.

"It's kinda good to be back." Burgh shoots me a look, but says nothing. Instead he spins away and stands by one of the computer analysts typing away at the controls. He leans down and whispers something in his ear.

Aaron clears his throat, bringing our attention to him as he stands before the screen.

"To answer your question May, I'm not assigning you girls into the field because I'm placing you in charge of a security team." Aaron snaps his fingers and five pictures appear up on the screen. I recognize all of them. Of the five, three of them are elderly gentleman and the remaining two are sophisticated ladies.

"Before you are the current heads of the Five Families. All of you are familiar with my father, Alexander Beaumontt – he's fully aware of the situation and has already been entrusted with a private security team. Next to him is Andrew Hammond, he is also aware of the situation but requests we not inform his wife or son. The same can be said for Robert Richardson, he requests we not inform his wife or his two sons. Then we have Angela Magnus, Burgh's mother…"

"I've already informed her and I've been assigned to her protection team." Burgh interrupts.

Aaron looks at him and coughs his disapproval at being interrupted. Burgh shows no signs of being affected my Aaron's displeasure. I can't help but snicker a bit, this has Aaron shooting me a look, but I brush it off; His looks have never intimidated me or at least they no longer intimidate me, I learned that lesson a long time ago.

"Lastly, we have Maria Callaway, her entire family have been informed and have personally requested that some of our best be assigned to their security team."

"So I take it we are being assigned to the Callaway Security Team?" Dawn asks.

Aaron shakes his head. "No Dawn, you girls are not." Aaron snaps his fingers and the images of Andrew Hammond and Robert Richardson enlarge. My stomach drops as does my jaw, and I feel like punching something. Oh hell no… Aaron isn't seriously going to… "Instead, you three will be assigned the care of both the Hammond and Richardson Families. Specifically, it will be your duty to protect their sons."

My heart flops and my stomach flips. _God damn it!_

"You can't be serious." Dawn protests before I can voice a word.

Aaron quirks a brow at her, "Is there a problem Dawn?"

"You are aware that we are currently under the employment of the Hammond family, right?"

Aaron nods his head slowly, "Yes, we are aware. Which is one reason we are assigning you their protection detail. I don't see what the problem is."

I clear my throat and bring the attention upon myself. I cross my arms and lean against the railing. "The problem is that Drew Hammond knows who we are, as does Paul Richardson. Assigning us to their security team is a risky decision."

"Why is that?" Aaron asks.

"Assigning us to their security team puts our secret identities at risk, because once this is over, and we've managed to put Scorpio and Fallon back behind bars, the three of us are going back into retirement. We're only on board just for this one mission. If our employers find out our real identities, then any chance of us returning to our normal lives is dashed."

Aaron looks at me and we engage in a staring match.

"There are a number of reasons I'm assigning you to their security team. One, you girls are their age and are already part of their lives, so your presence won't be considered an anomaly. Two, the fact that you are already under the employ of the Hammond family makes it much easier for you to keep an eye on the Hammond boy during non-school hours. Three, the fact the Hammond and Richardson boy are friends make it easier to keep an eye on them both. And four, Mr Hammond has already been informed of your identities and insists that you be placed in charge of his son's protection."

"You already told Mr Hammond?" Misty raises her voice, though I can't tell if it's in anger or surprise, perhaps it's both.

"Yes. It was a necessity and it also ensures that once this is over, you three can return to your retirement. Mr Hammond assures me that he has no intention of firing you because of this."

"Not to mention, we have taken into account such an event in which the boys might find out your secret identities." Burgh butts in and saunters over to join the discussion. "You girls can go about your regular lives and agent duties without concern. Leave the protection of your secret identities to us. Well, me." Burgh smiles.

I sigh and close my eyes. This is going to be a real pain. This is the first time we've known a client personally. And what's worse, Drew and Paul are natural male ass-hats with irritating personalities that make you want to punch them in the face if you aren't their fangirls.

"Are you girls still on board?" Aaron asks. "You can still back out, but this is your last chance."

I open my eyes. "We won't back out on our word."

From the corner of my eye, I watch as both Dawn and Misty nod their heads in agreement. We never ever back out on our word; if we say we'll do something and make a promise, then we'll carry it out.

"Good." Aaron nods his head and smiles. "Any more protests or concerns?"

I look to the girls and we all shake our heads.

"Good. Then your duty is clear. The security and protection of the Hammond and Richardson families, while assisting with the apprehension of Alexander Scorpio and Sebastian Fallon."

The girls and I each nod our heads in confirmation.

"Then, let's get you girls geared up."

* * *

I admit, that there's one thing I do miss about being an agent, and it's the uniforms. Since the girls and I are in a special ops unit we get unique uniforms that we designed ourselves, or that Dawn designed with input from Misty and I.

Each of our uniforms is relatively similar but with slight adaptations that suited our individual traits, skills, duties and fighting styles. Although we have our pokemon with us, the three of us are skilled combatants, as are all _Court _agents. One of the first rules we're are taught is that we should always have an alternate course of action, always have a back up plan and other means of successful mission completion.

Our specialized uniforms are all black with hints of colour suited to our personal tastes: Red is mine, Pink is Dawn's and Blue is Misty's.

Dawn's uniform consists of a black, sleeveless top with thin pink trims on the waist and neck; black pants tucked into dark-pink, knee-high boots with black laces; black mini-skirt with slits up the sides and pink trim along the hem; dark-pink, midriff three-quarter-sleeve jacket; dark-pink fingerless gloves with black accents; and utility belt with our symbol on the buckle. Dawn wears her hair up in a ponytail held in place by a yellow butterfly scrunchy. On her utility belt is her Pokéball pouch, back-up communicator, standard spy gadgets, retractable combat staff, customized computer hacking tools and built-in grappling line.

Misty's uniform consists of a black, three-quarter-sleeve top with thin royal blue trims on the waist, neck and sleeves; black pants tucked into navy-blue, knee-high combat boots with black laces; navy-blue, midriff vest jacket with mini-knives hidden in the breast pockets; navy-blue fingerless gloves with black accents; and utility belt with our symbol on the buckle. Misty wears her hair in a tight plait adorned with a silver butterfly clip. On her utility belt is her Pokéball pouch, back-up communicator, numerous pouches for her throwing knives and stars, standard spy gadgets and built-in grappling line. Strapped to her right leg is her custom designed combat knife.

As for me, my uniform consists of a black, turtle-neck, sleeveless top with thin rose-red trims on the waist and neck; black pants tucked into dark-red, knee-high boots with black laces; black, elbow length fingerless gloves with red accents and reinforced metal wrist guards; and utility belt with our symbol on the buckle. I put my hair into low pigtails held in place by a red butterfly charm on the left and a green butterfly charm on the right. On my utility belt is my Pokéball pouch, back-up communicator, my two customized Sai (ancient Japanese fighting weapons), standard spy gadgets and built-in grappling line.

Concealed in out ears are our primary communication devices. We also have masks supported by special lens glasses; the masks are designed like spread butterfly wings in our signature colours. Our symbol is an image of a Beautifly, our team's and the _Courts_ signature pokemon. Except our symbol features only a single Beautifly with its wings spread wide and it's holding a star wrapped in a ribbon.

"I have to admit, I missed wearing these." Dawn says.

I nod and hum in agreement.

"I missed all my knives," Says Misty with a smile, "That's not very healthy is it?"

"For you? Not so much, but the statement is understandable." I laugh and Misty laughs with me while Dawn just shakes her head.

"You girls ready?" Aaron's voice travels through the change room door.

"We're coming out." I announce.

Misty, Dawn and I join Aaron out in the hall. He nods his approval at our uniforms and them motions for us to follow him. He leads us back to the Command Center. He nods to Burgh who nods back and waves for one of the technicians to bring up something on the big screen. Drew and Paul's pictures pop up; even in a photograph Drew radiates charming cockiness that makes me want to smack reality into him.

"Your first assignment is to locate Andrew Joseph Hammond and Paul Stanley Richardson—"

"Stanley?" Dawn bursts out into a fit of giggles. "Paul's middle name is Stanley? Oh that is priceless."

"Dawn?" Aaron cocks a brow. "Is there something amusing about that name?"

"Sorry, but I just can't believe that Paul's middle name is Stanley. In the two years I've known him, I just… I can't believe that… Sorry, but for someone like Paul has a middle name like that. I just can't help but burst into a fit. I mean no offense against the name Stanley, but it's just… with Paul… I'm sorry."

"You'll have to forgive her Aaron." I explain. "But the Paul we are familiar with is a bit, cold-shouldered and some-what… what's the word? He can be very… He's basically the type of guy who doesn't spare a second glance to those he considers weak and pathetic, which is basically everyone who isn't his family or are his _friends_."

"I see. And that's why Dawn is about to choke on her own laughter?"

"Pretty much." Misty shrugs and nods.

"Huh. Let's continue." Aaron turns back to the screens, "As I was saying, your first assignment is to locate these two. Once you've located them, begin mapping their activities so that you can establish a routine watch schedule. Since you are already quite acquainted with them, that shouldn't be too hard."

"Then we can finish fairly early tonight. Since we pretty much live and breath Drew's normal daily schedule, the only trouble we'll get is from Paul." I check my watch and estimate we can go home, do some homework, eat and be in bed by 10:30pm – 11:00pm at the latest.

"Well then, you girls better get started. I expect regular updates, and for you to report in every weekend to assist with the search. I'll call you with the time and date I expect you here at base. Understood?"

We look at each other and then turn back to Aaron.

"Understood." We say in unison.

* * *

"Am I the only one who wants to go over and smack one of them in the face?" Dawn mumbles into her communicator with a strained giggle.

"Well, I don't know Papillon, you're the only one who has actual eyes on them right now." I whisper into my communicator. Papillon is Dawn's code-name: French = Butterfly.

We are currently staking out the nightclub the boys are occupying. I'm situated on the rooftop of the building next-door, Misty is on the rooftop of the building opposite and Dawn is on the inside in disguise. We settled on her wearing emerald-green contacts, honey-brown hair in ringlets wig, a flattering black strapless dress with a wide white belt, black heels and silver butterfly necklace with matching earrings that conceal her communication device.

"Well trust me, they really need a good smack in the face," mumbles Dawn. Her annoyance echoes clearly through her communicator.

"Control yourself. The aim is to watch them not hurt them," says Misty, a light laugh in her breath, "and a while ago, weren't you concerned about keeping your composure around _Stanley_?"

"Yes, but now that I can actually see him, my laughter is trumped by the need to smack him."

"Well, too bad, you can't." I say, as a smile graces my lips.

"It's not like they'll know it's me." Mumbles Dawn.

"Focus Papillon. Status update." I whisper into my communicator.

"Green and Purple are still by the bar, and Black has moved to the dance floor. He's a pretty good dancer." Says Dawn.

"Not surprised. He once told me that his mom got him dance lesson as a kid. He hated them at first, but then got really into them." Misty says nonchalantly.

"When did he tell you this?" I ask.

"We're in the same math's class, remember? The teacher paired us up for an in-class assignment."

"And you somehow got into talking about his dance lessons?" Asks Dawn.

"It wasn't on purpose. We were originally discussing algebra and he brought up the topic of lunch. That's when he asked what I was having for lunch, and that got us started on our favourite foods. I asked about his mother's cooking, and somewhere along the way he mentioned his mother sending him to dance lessons."

"Not surprised that the whole conversation started from the topic of food. I swear he has a bigger stomach than Mariposa." Dawn giggles. Mariposa is my code-name: Spanish = Butterfly.

"My stomach is the same size as everyone else's." I rebut, giving in to Dawn and her riling comment. I like food, what's the crime in that.

"If I had to liken it to anything, I go with 'black hole'." Misty laughs with heavy drips of sarcasm.

"Thanks guys." I roll my eyes.

"You're welcome sweetie." I can practically hear the smile in Dawn's voice.

"Can we get back to the task at hand?" I ask.

"Stooge One and Stooge Two are still at the bar and Stooge Three is still on the dance floor." Says Dawn, clearly bored.

"What are they doing Papillon?" asks Misty.

"Green is entertaining two girls, a brunette and a dark-blonde, and the brunette looks a little tipsy. Purple is solitary. A girl with black hair in a bob-cut is trying to get his attention, but he's giving her the cold-shoulder. Black is dancing in a small group of two other guys and four girls. I recognise one of the guys and two of girls from out school. Liam Sullivan, Sofia Disher and Kate Smith."

"Scan the rest of the room." I order, knowing that Dawn will know what to look out for.

"I can see at least a dozen other kids from out school here. Two bartenders, a male and a female, the female bartender has this nice Ariel-red hair and the male bartender is cute, really cute—"

"Papillon focus." I command.

"Ok, ok. I'm focused. I just said he was cute, geez." Dawn sighs. "There are booths along both sides of the wall and each of them is currently filled to capacity. The bathrooms are close to the doors. There's a bouncer outside and two more bouncers inside. All males in their mid to late thirties with standard black uniforms. Each one is packing a nightstick, radio and stun gun."

"Good. We see the outside bouncer from here. There's a steady line out the door. Both alleys are clear." I report.

"How much longer do we have to watch?" asks Dawn

"We keep watch till the guys go home." I say.

"It's common for the guys to stay out until midnight or later, and we have to be home before them. We can't keep watch all night." Misty points out.

"I'm aware of that, Farfalla. Which is why we're going to give them reason to leave early tonight." I say with a smile gracing my lips accompanied by a cheeky thought. Farfalla is Misty's code-name: Italian = Butterfly.

"How?" Dawn and Misty ask in unison.

"Hang tight and leave it to me. We'll give them another half hour before going into action."

I lower the volume on my communicator and leave my position. I walk over to the corner of the building and perch myself on the edge. From my pocket I pull out my mobile phone.

_Time to make some calls._

* * *

"So, like, is it true that your father is one of the richest men in the city?" I inwardly cringe at the sound of her high pitch voice.

"Yes." I reply politely, adding in my signature hair flick and charming smirk. This sends the brunette, whose name I think is Amy or Ally, and her blond companion into a tiff of giggles and whispering of 'oh-my-gosh'.

"So what's it like being wealthy?" asks the blonde, whose name is Sasha or Sarah.

"Do you get to meet a lot of celebrities?" asks the brunette.

"Yeah, do you?" asks her blonde friend.

"Being wealthy just means I have more money than most, it doesn't really make me all that different from other guys. As for meeting celebrities, I only get to meet them during special events my family hosts or events I'm invited too."

"Ooo, really? Which celebs have you met?" squeaks Amy/Ally

"I've met Wallace Turquoise." Wallace is an old friend; he was once my tutor, taught me all sorts of contest tricks.

"Ooo, you mean the famous Coordinator Wallace?"

"Yes. He used to be my tutor." I force a smile and take a sip of my drink. I sneak a glance at Paul, who looks like he's about to blow it at the girl trying to chat him up. I spread my gaze over the dance floor and inwardly grin at the sight of Ash dancing with some guys from school.

"Do you get to meet any female celebs?" asks Sarah/Sasha

"I've talked to Cynthia of the Sinnoh Region." I say, turning my attention back to them and plastering a smirk on my face.

"As in Cynthia the Champion? That Cynthia?" Ally/Amy looks as if her eyes are about to jump of her head.

"Yes."

"Sooo lucky. Cynthia is, like, my biggest idol…" slurs Ally/Amy, "after you, of course." She runs her finger down my chest. I want to take her hand away, but…

"Then I'm honored to have a lovely fan, such as you." I shoot her with my most charming smirk and she looks as if she's about to fall. _Too easy._

"So, like, I would so love to hear more about you. So… do you think we can… I don't know, maybe… find somewhere more private?" Ally/Amy steps closer and attempts a sensual flirty look/wink. Personally, she looks more like she has a nervous twitch in her right eye.

To the side, her blond friend giggles and gives Ally/Amy a 'you-naughty-girl-you' look and a sign of encouragement.

"Well…" I look away to think about it, making her giggle and slur, but really I don't want to bring her anywhere near my house. But…

Before I can give her an answer, my phone buzzes in the pocket.

"Hold on a moment ladies." I give them a wink and turn away to answer my phone.

"Hello, this is Drew speaking."

"Andrew." My dad's deep tone travels into my ear through the phone.

"Yes, sir." I gulp and wonder what my dad could want, he rarely ever calls me personally; normally he gets his secretary to do it.

"Andrew, where are you? Why are you not home?"

"I'm out with friends. Nothing bad."

"I see, well then, I'm afraid you'll just have to tell you friends good-bye. I want you to return home as soon as possible. I'm waiting for you at your residence."

"May I ask why, sir?"

"I have something I need to discuss with you and it's better done in person. So return home as soon as you can. Did you drive?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good."

"But I have to drop off Paul and Ash first. I'm their ride home."

"Paul? Robert's son?"

"Yes."

There's a pause and I can here noise in the background as if he's talking to someone else. "Good, have him come with you once you've dropped off the Ketchum boy."

"Why?"

"His father is with me, we'd both like to discuss something with the two of you."

"Ok."

My phone beeps and the screen flashes 'Call Ended' in red. What was that all about? What could the old man possibly want to talk to me about? And Paul too? He hasn't had a proper talk to me since I first entered high school, he lectured me about not wasting my school years and that I should use each and every moment to ensure my future.

I stuff my phone back in my pocket and tap Paul on the shoulder. He looks relieved at being distracted from the chatty girl.

"What?"

"We've got to go. Grab Ash. I'll explain in the car." I turn around and wave down the bartender. "I'm paying for my drinks and his." I hand the bartender a couple of bills and he thanks me.

"Aww, are you leaving already?" whines Ally/Amy.

"I'm afraid so. Sorry." I fake an apologetic smile and move away from the bar. Paul moves to grab Ash by the collar and drag him away from the dance floor.

"Hey!"

"We're going now, loser."

"You don't have to yank on my collar and don't call me loser." Ash pulls out of Paul's grip and straightens out his shirt. "Why are we going now?"

"We just are. Come on." I motion for the guys to follow me towards the exit.

* * *

Ash and I follow Drew towards the exit, that's when I feel eyes on me. This isn't unusual, but something about this particular feeling is different. I swivel my head and scan the room till my eyes land on a girl with honey-brown ringlets and green eyes. Our eyes connect for a brief moment before she looks away. I watch as she moves off and disappears into the crowd. My eyes search for her but she's nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, Paul. Come on." Drew calls.

I quickly scan the crowd for her, but find no sign of her. Drew calls again and I turn to follow.

Who is she? Something about her eyes, they way she stared at me seemed different. It wasn't adoring or lovesick, nor was it an _Hmm-look-a-bad-boy-let's-see-if-I-can-tame-him _look. I shake my head and force it out of my head, no point wracking my brain over something pointless like a girl.

* * *

"Mariposa, Farfalla, the targets are leaving the club." Dawn whispers into the communicator.

"Mariposa, how'd you get them to move?" Misty asks.

"I put in a few calls and had a talk to Aaron. I've got a plan, but I'll explain it once we're home. For now, disband your posts and rendezvous at the car." I order into the communicator and move to the fire escape. I slid down and maneuver my way over to where we parked the car; this one is one the _Court _lent us, it's dangerous and risky for us to use our own vehicles on stakeouts.

I hop in the drivers seat and start the engine. Misty and Dawn arrive; Misty takes the passenger seat and Dawn takes the back. I jab my thumb at the black duffel bag.

"There's a change of clothes in there. Can you still change while in a moving car?"

"Just drive." Dawn quips.

I hit the gas and we take off. Misty turns the radio on, but instead of music, it's Aaron's voice.

"Girls, report in."

"Domum Papilio, reporting." Domum Papilio is the name of our squad unit (Latin: Butterfly House).

"Good. I must commend you on your idea Mariposa. It's quite clever. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't think of it."

"Save the praise Aaron. Did you do what I asked?"

"Only for you, my dear Mariposa. They're on their way now. I've filled them in already."

"Thanks Aaron. We'll report again soon. Over and out."

"Roger." The radio beeps and Aaron's voice is replaced by music.

"What was that about? Who'd you call?" asks Misty.

I smile. "You'll see when we get home." I increase the speed and we're racing down the road.

"May, slow down!" Dawn cries.

I laugh and increase the speed instead.

* * *

"So why am I coming with you to your house?" Paul drones.

Paul and I are one out way back to my place after dropping Ash off.

"I've no idea. I just know that my dad and your dad are in my house right now, and they want to talk to us. About what, I have no idea."

Paul grumbles in his seat and mutters something along the lines of _what a waste_. I smirk and increase the speed of the car. When my house comes into sight, I spot my dad's personal car and a car I don't recognize parked in the driveway. I press the remote and open the gates. I park the car in the garage and shut the engine off.

"Let's get this over with." Mumbles Paul.

When I unlock the garage-house door, I'm greeted by the sight of May, Dawn and Misty animatedly chatting away with two guys I've never seen before. They've both got brown hair, though one of them is wearing what looks like a white beanie so you can't quite tell. They're both dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Something about them stirs something inside of me and I feel like hitting something. But what really gets to me is how close May is to the one in the beanie. They're chatting away privately while Misty and Dawn talk to the other guy. I stare at the hand May has on his shoulder, relaxed and comfortable. May and the Beanie Guy laugh and chuckle, there's a bright smile on May's face, a real smile. I'm pleased with the smile on May's face, but at the same time I'm tempted to forcefully make Beanie Guy leave for making her smile and not me.

"Drew." My father's voice distracts me form May and Beanie Guy.

Dad and Paul's dad stand next to each other, still in their office suits. Everyone on the room now has their eyes on Paul and I. May's hand has yet to vacate Beanie Guy's shoulder.

"Hello." I bite out. Paul looks at me, but I ignore him.

"Paul." Mr Richardson nods at Paul, and Paul nods back.

"We'll take this discussion into the dining room." Dad says.

"Yes, sir." I nod and turn away, but not before catching May leaning over and whispering something in Beanie Guy's ear. He chuckles and she laughs.

I enter the dining room and take the seat to the right of the head chair; Paul sits next to me. Dad takes the head chair and Mr Richardson sits to his left, sitting opposite me. Next to Mr Richardson sits Beanie Guy and next to him sits the other guy, the one who'd been talking to Dawn and Misty. Speaking of the girls, they remain standing, positioned near to the wall behind Mr Richardson, Beanie Guy and the other guy.

"Drew. Paul. We've arranged this meeting to discuss a very pressing matter." My dad begins, "There's been a recent threat made against both our families. Robert and I have had a long discussion about it, and we both agree this threat is quite serious. So we've seen it fit for the two of you to be assigned bodyguards." He motions towards Beanie Guy and his partner.

"This is Brendan Birch," Beanie Guy smiles and waves, "and Kenny Sands." Kenny grins.

"They'll be you guards until we're are sure the threat has passed. They'll both be enrolled at LaRousse Prep so that it'll be much easier to protect you," says Mr Richardson, "Brendan will be Drew's personal guard and Kenny will be yours, Paul."

"We don't need them," says Paul, glaring at his father, "I can protect myself, so can Drew."

"There's no doubt the two of you are skilled trainers and you're more than capable of protecting yourselves. However, this is the decision we've come to," says Mr Richardson, staring down Paul, "So no arguments."

Paul grumbles, leans back in his seat and crosses his arms. I agree with him. We don't need bodyguards; especially not irritating, maid flirting, beanie-wearing bodyguards.

"Drew? Do you have any objections?" My father asks.

"I agree with Paul. There's no need for us to have bodyguards. As Mr Richardson has pointed out, we are more than capable of protecting ourselves. If it gets really dangerous, then we have our pokemon to assist us." I calmly point out.

"Nonetheless, we've seen it fit to assign the two of you bodyguards. Brendan will being living here with you, and Kenny will live with Paul." My dad says.

I narrow my gaze at Brendan/Beanie-Guy. There's no way I'm having him live with me. Brendan notices me staring and smiles back, doesn't he get that I glaring at him.

"Now that's settled, we'll be leaving." Mr Richardson stands, so does Kenny. "Paul."

Paul grumbles and stands too. He follows his father, with Kenny following him. On his way out, Kenny winks at Dawn and she giggles. I catch a low growl from Paul and chuckle inside.

"Drew." I bring my attention back to my father.

"Yes, sir?"

"I trust you will treat Brendan with care and welcome him. He's putting his life on the line for you."

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Dad stands. "I bid you good night and I expect to see you at the Celebration Gala in three weeks." He turns and walks out, bidding his good-byes to the girls and Brendan.

* * *

I smile and bow as Mr Hammond leaves. Leaving Misty, Dawn, Brendan, Drew and I in the dining room. I couldn't help but notice, throughout the discussion, that Drew was glaring at Brendan. And he still is. _What's up with him?_

"So, your name's Brendan?" Drew asks, putting on a polite smile.

"Yes, sir."

"I couldn't help but notice that you seem to know my maids."

"Yes, sir. May, Misty, Dawn and I are old friends. May and I actually grew up together." Brendan smiles, oblivious to the negative aura and glares coming from Drew.

"Did you? What was that like?" Drew continues to smile politely, but has the aura of someone who is about to break something.

"What do you mean?" Brendan doesn't look affected by the aura in the slightest; I don't think he's even aware of it.

"What was it like growing up with May? She' been with me for two years now and I barely know a thing about her." Drew continues to smile.

"Well, she's always been a pretty private person since she turned 12, so it's not surprising that she hasn't spoken much about her past. But I can tell you that growing up together was a lot of fun. She was so gullible as kid, you wouldn't believe how easy to was to trick her." Brendan smiles and I get a bad feeling in my gut. He better not recount any embarrassing tales from our childhood, there's a reason I keep those to myself, to spare myself any embarrassments. Not even Dawn and Misty know those stories and I've pretty much told them everything about my life.

"Really? Any particular story you'd like to share about that?" Drew smiles, his aura changing from a dark colour to a light one. His practiced and polite smile morphed into a smirk. _Oh hell no!_

"Well, there was the time she wanted to make friends with a flock of Beautifly that fluttered about in a nearby flower field…" I jump forward to silence Brendan from telling the 'Beautifly & Flower' story, but he moves from his chair and I end up hitting my forehead on the backrest.

"Brendan." I warn as I rub my forehead, but he just smiles and continues his story, much to the amusement of Drew, Dawn and Misty. I'm so going to get him for this.

"…However, every time she got near them she would scare them and they would fly away…" He moves to the other side of the room and I chase after him, but he speed walks away.

"…So she comes to me asks me how can she befriend them without making them fly away…" Brendan's smile grows. I growl and jump towards him, but he sidesteps me and speed walks away.

"…So, I came up with a solution and convinced her to put on this flower headdress I made…"

"Brendan." Our little game of chase continued around the dining room as Drew, Dawn and Misty listened and watched with amassment.

"…Then I told her to stand in the middle of a flower field…"

"Brendan!"

"…So she stood there as still as a real flower and waited for the Beautifly to come…" He jogs past Dawn and Misty who encourage him to keep going. "…You see, I told her that if she stood there long enough, the Beautifly would come and dance around her like the do with all the other pretty flowers in the field…"

"Brendan, stop right now!"

"…"So she stands there, waiting. I tell her I need to go use the bathroom and that I'd be back later to check on her…"

"Brendan, I'm so going to get you for this!" I growl as we take turns changing direction as we chase each other around the dining table; me wanting to rip his head off, and him wanting to keep his head on.

"…When I do come back, she's still standing there as still as before, just waiting for the Beautifly to come. She must've stood there for… How long was it May? 2 or 3 hours?" Brendan smiles as he runs away from me.

"Brendan!"

"…Oh, that's right. It was 4 hours. After 4 hours of standing there, she whined that it wasn't working. So I told her to wait there while I ran back home to get something…"

"Brendan, if you don't stop telling that story right now, I'm going to sick Blaziken on you!" I swear I will. If he doesn't stop right now, he will feel the pain of Blaziken's Flamethrower.

"…I ran back home and got my Mom's flower perfume. I told May that she not only needed to look like a flower but smell like one too. So I spritzed her…"

"Did she attract the Beautifly?" asks Misty.

Brendan's smile broadens, I didn't think it could, but it did. "She sure did. But it wasn't the Beautifly."

"Brendan Birch!"

"What did she end up attracting?" I swear smiling is contagious; aside from Drew, who's smirking, and myself, everyone else is smiling.

"…Beedrill. She attracted a whole swarm of Beedrill. She shrieked so loud it scared every other pokémon, aside from the Beedrill, out of the flower field…"

I give up and collapse to the floor, burying my head in my hands, my face fully flushed.

"…She shrieks and sprints for the nearest lake and jumps in. The Beedrill hovered above the lake until the perfume wore off. I figured they lost interest and flew away. But you should've seen the way she constantly surfaced and dived whenever she needed to breathe. She was like a bobbing apple." Brendan laughs as he smiles and sits back down in his previous seat.

"Then what?' asks Dawn.

"Yes, Brendan, what did our dear May do next?" the tone in Drew's voice… he's never going to let live this down.

"Well I called out and told her it was safe. She climbs out of the lake drenched from head-to-toe looking like a drowned flower. I laughed so hard I thought I was going to pass out. You should've seen her." Everyone, but me, starts laughing; though Drew was chuckling more so than laughing.

"I hate you guys." I grumble as I stand up.

"Oh, come one May. We're just having a little fun. And you have to admit, if it weren't for the fact that it was you, you'd be laughing too." Brendan smiles.

Brendan's right. If it weren't me, I'd be laughing too. "Ok, you're right. But yo do realize I'm going to get you back for this." I stare him down.

"I have no doubt in my mind and that." He stands and faces me with his arms crossed, "So bring it on Maple!"

We square off, staring at one another. Challenge accepted.

* * *

I watch as May and Brendan/Beanie-Guy square off. Something inside me stirs and despite me being the one to have brought the story up by asking Brendan to tell a story in the first place… I just… I… I've never seen May so _jovial _and_ happy_ before. I mean, sure she's happy and energetic when she's around Dawn and Misty, they're her best friends. And she's sometimes like that around Ash, but then that's Ash, he's friendly to everyone. And there are times when she's gets angry at me and threatens me down, but… But this the first time I've seen her like this around another guy, who isn't Mr Nice-Guy Ash or myself.

And I'm not sure why… but I don't like it.

* * *

**Chapter Three Done! Yay! Finally!**

**I hope you enjoyed reading this, and that you stay tuned in for more.**

**- LadySilentEagle**


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